


Christmas in the Clink

by dawninthemtn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Despite the subject matter there is zero angst, F/M, Heavy drinking and arrest happen off-screen, Meet-Cute, Mention of pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21834859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawninthemtn/pseuds/dawninthemtn
Summary: Ben Solo is enjoying a quiet, lonely Christmas Eve when he gets a call that he needs to pick up his publicly intoxicated parents from the police station. His night improves greatly when he is joined by his uncle Luke’s cute neighbor Rey.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, background han/leia - Relationship
Comments: 136
Kudos: 715





	1. Chapter 1

The fact that it was Christmas Eve was not lost on Ben Solo. After all, he had left the office that day at 3 PM, a highly unusual move, and was not planning to work the following day, if only because none of his colleagues would be in and his clients would be annoyed if he called them.

He certainly hadn’t missed some of the festive red and green decorations on his assistant’s desk, and had even remembered to get her a gift - without her assistance. The week before, he had dutifully made an appearance at the firm holiday party and had stayed a good half hour after bonuses were handed out.

He had given a sizable donation to a homeless charity that one of his colleagues was associated with and had gone as far as to purchase a toy train and dump it in the Toys for Tots bin in the lobby of their office building.

He wasn’t a Scrooge. He just didn’t really have any reason to celebrate Christmas.

He wasn’t religious. He didn’t have kids, or a wife, or even a girlfriend. He knew his parents, still living in his childhood home in the next town over, would love to have him come by for Christmas, but he had gotten out of the habit since joining his firm.

Christmas was a day to unwind, to get away from the stress of his constant billable hours, and hanging out with his parents was the worst way to destress.

So when his mother had called him that morning asking again if he wanted to come over that evening, Ben had unapologetically told her that he was still at the office. He allowed her a few minutes to bemoan the fact that she was the only woman in her Bridge group with no grandkids to buy gifts for or take to visit Santa before he briskly wished her and his dad a merry Christmas and hung up the phone.

The evening had been as stress-free as Ben could hope for. With no one working, he could put away his laptop and simply exist. He watched some basketball, hit the gym, and took a long, indulgent shower after just because he could.

Now in his comfiest pajama pants and hoodie, he settled under his down comforter and flipped through Netflix on his phone. He saw a couple Christmas movies on the homepage under “Now Trending” and briefly considered watching one. It wouldn’t hurt him to feel a little bit of Christmas spirit.

That idea was quickly squashed when he figured out that all of Netflix’s Christmas offerings were either children’s movies or contrived love stories, neither of which he was interested in. He scrolled down to television dramas but his phone screen changed to _incoming call._

The area code was from his parents’ town, but it wasn’t either of their numbers, so he decided to pick up. 

“Ben Solo,” he chirped, a little confused as to who would be calling him at 10 PM on Christmas Eve.

“Hey, Son,” came an all-too-familiar voice.

“Dad? Whose number is this?”

“So, uh, that’s the thing…” His voice got cut off by another louder, shriller voice. There was some kind of a scuffle and his father got replaced on the line.

“Benjamin, darling.” His mother Leia’s voice was syrupy and slurred. “We need you to come pick us up.”

“Where? What is going on?”

“We’ve just had a bit of a misunderstanding.” There was another muffled set of noises, and then his father, Han, came back on.

“We got arrested, kid.”

“It’s just a misunderstanding,” insisted his mother again from the background.

“Wait, what?” Ben sat up straighter in his bed. “Dad, stop talking now. And tell Mom to shut up. Have you talked to a lawyer?”

“I’m on the phone with him.”

“No, Dad.” Ben slapped his hand against his forehead. “I am an estate attorney. I have not as much as read a criminal statute since the bar exam. You need to hang up with me and call an actual criminal attorney.”

“You’re making way too much of a deal out of this,” said his father, far too flippantly for Ben’s liking. “Cops are letting us go. We just need you to drive us home.”

“Fine, I’ll come,” said Ben, climbing out of bed. “What did they bring you guys in on?”

“‘Public intoxication,’” Han quoted sardonically. “Bunch of bologna if you ask me.”

“Well, no one did.”

In the background, Ben could hear Leia yell, “If having fun is a crime, then I’m an anarchist!”

“Mom!” Ben was sure she couldn’t hear him, but he still scolded, “Don’t piss off the people who have power over you right now.”

“I’ll handle your mother,” said Han.

“Uh, are you capable of handling yourself right now?”

“Are you accusing your old man of not being able to hold his liquor?” His words were sloshed, making Ben wonder just how much liquor he had had.

“I’m not accusing you of anything that actual police officers haven’t already accused you of.” Ben tugged on a pair of jeans and sneakers and slipped out the door. “Where are you guys?”

“The Chandrila police station on 5th.”

“Just so you know, this is not how I intended to spend my Christmas.”

“And how do you spend it? We’re always dying to know.”

“Not getting arrested, for starters.” He grumpily turned on his car. “K, Dad, I’m driving. I need to hang up so I can look up your freaking jail on Google Maps. Please keep Mom from pissing off every cop in the county until I can get there. Remember you have the right to remain silent. And those poor cops have the right to your silence.”

“Got it, Son!” 

Ben hung up before he blew up any further over his father’s cheery tone. Google Maps estimated a thirty-nine minute drive, so he put on an old favorite playlist to distract him from the fact that his evening had veered wildly off-course.

\--

Before this evening, Ben wouldn’t have believed that Christmas decorations could look any sadder than they did at First Order Law, but seeing a lopsided wreath hanging on a jail intake desk made him think that his office looked downright cheery.

A cop was slouched in the chair behind the desk, absorbed in a phone game.

Ben coughed a little.

“Excuse me,” he said. The cop looked up, surprised to see anyone there. “I’m, uh, here for Han and Leia Solo?”

He had no idea if that was the right way to spring his parents out of jail, but the cop nodded.

“Ah, yes,” he said. “They’ve been a delight around here tonight.” His tone indicated otherwise.

“I’m sorry,” said Ben automatically. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“Couple of beat cops responded to a call from a restaurant owner, complaining that some drunks were causing a ruckus in the street. So they picked up the three of them and brought them here to be our problem.”

“Three of them?”

“Hey, excuse me.”

Both Ben and the cop turned to a young woman’s voice that came from behind Ben.

“I’m here because I got a phone call from Luke Skywalker that I need to pick him up,” she said. 

Ben frowned. “Luke is here?”

The woman’s head jerked up to meet his gaze, as if noticing him for the first time. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Who are you?” he said right back.

The cop stood up, his chair screeching across the floor loud enough to draw their attention. “I’ll head back,” he said. “Wait here.”

He disappeared, and the woman started complaining. “I can’t believe Luke calls me on Christmas Eve and makes me come down here, and he already has someone here for him.”

“What?” said Ben. “You mean me? I’m not here for Luke.”

“Oh.” She gave him another discerning glance. “Why are you here then?”

“I’m here for my parents. My mom is Luke’s sister. They must have all been together tonight.”

“Oh!” she said again, suddenly enthused. “That means Luke actually went to be with his family. I’ve been encouraging him to for so long.”

“I’m sorry, how do you know Luke?”

“I’m his neighbor.”

“I didn’t think he had any neighbors. Or, like, knew any people at all.”

She smiled, a giant, bright thing that begged for his attention. He hadn’t really taken in her face before that, but now he noticed that she was very pretty, with sparkling eyes that made his heart stutter.

He didn’t do great with pretty girls.

“He doesn’t, really,” she agreed. “And ‘neighbor’ is a stretch I guess. His house is way down the lane from mine, but our mailboxes are next to each other. It took him a good long while to respond to me, but I’d try to talk to him everyday anyway. And now we’re sort of friends?”

Ben huffed. “You’re a saint.”

“Why?”

“No one is friends with Luke.”

“Maybe you’re not,” she said stuffily. “No wonder he hides from his family.”

“You don’t know a thing about our family.”

She made a weird face and gave side-eye back to where the cop had disappeared into a hallway. “I can see that it’s Christmas Eve and your parents are back there and you’re here.”

“So?”

“So you weren’t with them?”

“Why should I have been?”

“Because.” She waved her arm dramatically. “It’s Christmas Eve and that’s a time for family.”

He leaned in to her and crossed his arms. “Maybe we don’t celebrate Christmas. Maybe we’re Jewish.”

She shrank back. “Oh,” she stuttered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think.”

Grinning, he said, “We’re not Jewish. We do celebrate Christmas, or I mean, we don’t _not_ celebrate it.”

“What?” She smacked his arm. “You asshole, using someone else’s religion just to make me feel bad.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“I’ll bet you have.”

“So what were you doing when you heard from the drunken Luke?” he asked, unaffected by her bitter tone. “You better have been with family.”

Immediately, Ben knew that he had said something wrong. All of her feisty spirit that he had been enjoying seemed to vanish in a poof of air. However, the moment was gone as quickly as it had appeared, and she threw on a sneer.

“None of your damn business, that’s what,” she snarled.

“Okay, geez,” he said, holding out his hands in a placating gesture. “Just trying to be polite.”

“That’s polite?”

Something about her completely flummoxed expression shook something inside him, and for the first time since he had answered his father’s phone call, Ben found the whole situation they were in very funny.

“Why are you laughing?” she said. She tried to look angry, but he could see a smile tugging at her lips.

“I’m sorry.” He wiped at his eyes, overcome with his mirth. “I don’t know, this is all so stupid. I’m picking up my parents from a holding cell at ten PM on Christmas Eve, arguing with a girl who has somehow managed to befriend Luke Skywalker. I don’t even know; it’s all very surreal.”

“You’re kind of weird.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I guess I am.”

“That’s okay.” She gave him a big smile again, and he realized how much he had already missed it. “I kind of am, too.”

“Maybe we should start over.” He held out his hand for her to shake. “I’m Ben, son to the two biggest idiots in the galaxy.”

Her smile grew, if that was possible. “I’m Rey, neighbor to an equally idiotic idiot.”

“Nice to meet you, under the strangest circumstances I never could have predicted.”

“Likewise.” She let go of his hand and stuck it into her jacket pocket. “So what were you doing tonight if not getting sloshed with your folks? With the girlfriend’s family instead?”

Was she...? Ben tried to play it cool even as his brain spun in a million directions.

“Just, uh, catching up on Netflix since I had the evening off work,” he said lightly, as if that was something cool and not something to be mildly ashamed of.

“Ah,” she said. “That sounds like my Christmas tradition. Was it complete with Chinese take-out?”

He shook his head. “Not even that fancy. I had a Lean Cuisine.”

“No you didn’t.”

“I did.”

She laughed and patted his stomach. “There is no way a Lean Cuisine is enough for you. Those things are like, 200 calories.”

“I am a little hungry,” he admitted.

“There’s a vending machine over there,” she said, pointing. “It’s Christmas. Get yourself a candy bar. It won’t kill you.”

“I don’t have any cash.”

“The machine takes Apple Pay,” said the cop, returning to the desk. “I came out here to let you know that they’ll be out in a couple minutes. We’re just finishing up some paperwork.” He looked significantly at Ben. “Your mom’s a real piece of work.”

Ben winced. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Look, between you and me, all three of them are getting off really easy tonight. None of them have any priors, but we could still technically keep them all night.” He made a face. “But honestly, it’s a low-level enough misdemeanor that we have a bit of say, and none of us want to be here right now on Christmas Eve, and we really don’t want to deal with any inmates. So that’s why we’re handing them over.”

Ben nodded gratefully at the cop, who returned to the hallway.

“Apple Pay, huh?” said Rey, returning her eyes to the vending machine. “So the sky’s the limit. You could buy yourself the whole lot.”

He bought two Snickers bars and brought one back for Rey.

“Ooh, thanks,” she said. “He _can_ be polite!”

Rey was right about him needing the candy bar. He took a bite and relished the instant carb-load high it brought him. Swallowing, he said, “So, Rey, what do you do?”

“I stamp jewelry.”

“You what?”

“I make hand-stamped jewelry,” she said. She pulled on her necklace to show him. It had a little pendant with a tiny indented heart. “I have my own company, Made by Rey.”

He was confused. “And that’s...I mean, you can live on that?”

She dropped her hand, looking offended. “I can live on that, and also pay all of my employees.”

“Sorry,” he said, meaning it. “I don’t know much about the, er, jewelry stamping world.”

She giggled, a welcome sound. “Here.” She pulled out her phone and showed him her company’s Instagram page. She had hundreds of thousands of followers, a feat that Ben assumed was very impressive.

“I love making things that have so much meaning to people,” she explained. “I love getting their comments, finding out why they picked what design for themselves or for others. Like this?” She grabbed at the pendant again. “This is my most popular design. People have me put significant dates on the back, like the day they got married or met the love of their life or had a baby, or whatnot.”

“What date is on yours?” He was almost afraid to ask.

“I put on the date I sold my first piece.” She bit her lip and released it. “For now, my company is my love and my baby.”

“That’s amazing, Rey,” he said. “You should be really proud.”

“Thanks,” she said, smiling. “And what do you do?”

“I’m a lawyer.” He shrugged. “Not as exciting, I’m afraid.”

“No, that’s great! You can help me navigate this process here.”

“Why does everyone assume I know anything about petty crime? I’m an estate attorney. I do wills and trusts.”

“Okay, fine, fine. Why’d you choose that?”

“Because the firm had an opening.” He was kind of embarrassed. Rey’s company was clearly her heart and soul, and he sounded a little pathetic in comparison.

“Makes sense to me,” she said. “Before my company took off, I was a waitress for years. Same thing. A restaurant had an opening so I took it. And if I had been making lawyer money, I’d probably still be there.”

“It’s not always boring,” said Ben, hoping to make Rey laugh again. “I once had this eccentric old super-rich client who made her grandkids’ inheritances contingent upon them naming a child after her. A year ago, she passed away and the grandkids tried to sue me for malpractice. I was able to get the case dismissed easily, as they didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. But I just found out that the oldest grandchild just had her first daughter and guess what? She’s named after the old woman!”

Ben had used up the only good story he had from almost five years of lawyering, but it was worth it to see Rey’s face glow as she laughed happily.

“I’m going to assume that they’re planning to call the baby by her middle name,” said Rey.

“That’s my assumption as well.”

“What’s going to happen when every little girl or even boy in that family has the same name?”

Ben chuckled. “Part of me wants to know, but the other part wants nothing more to do with this crazy family.”

The sound of the heavy metal door leading to the holding cell slamming open made them both jump. It was a painful reminder to Ben that they were here for a reason. Somehow, while the cop had been away, his time chatting with Rey and eating candy had begun to feel like a date. Possibly the best date Ben had been on in years.

A date that was ruined by the sight of his father, in a woebegone outfit of crumpled slacks and a sweater.

“Well, look who showed up to our family’s Christmas,” said Han jubilantly. “It only took us getting arrested to pull it off.”

“These are the kind of Christmas festivities you offer, and you wonder why I skip out.”

“Benjamin!” His mother emerged, her normally perfectly braided hair falling from its bun, graying pieces sticking in every direction. “I knew you’d come!”

“Yes, I told you I would. Your faith in me is inspiring.”

“Um, ma’am,” interrupted the cop, holding out a clipboard to Leia. “We need one more thing.”

“Give it to my lawyer.” She pointed at Ben. “He knows what to do.”

“Do you two have any idea what I do all day?” said Ben petulantly.

Rey stepped up to them. “Where’s Luke?”

“He passed out back there,” explained the cop. “My partner is trying to get him up.”

Rey put her hand over her eyes wearily.

“He always was a lightweight,” said Leia. Han nodded grimly.

“I don’t think you two have the high ground right now,” said Ben, waggling his finger at them like naughty children. “Mind telling me how we all ended up hanging out at a jail on Christmas Eve?”

“It’s been ages since Luke came by,” said Han. “So we went to the old cantina. One shot led to another…”

“Yeah, I know how getting drunk works,” said Ben impatiently. “How did you end up in jail?”

“We were minding our own business, singing in the street,” said Leia.

“Singing?”

“Yeah, our old college fight song,” she continued. Then she broke into her loud, warbly singing voice. “ _Gooo, Rebels, fight on Rebels…”_

The way the cop winced led Ben to believe that it wasn’t the first time he had heard her sing it that night.

“Yeah, I got it, Mom.” Ben chanced a look at Rey, who was clearly amused. 

“We weren’t going to hurt anyone,” insisted Leia.

“Except yourself, Princess,” piped in Han. To Ben, he said, “When the cops came, she had climbed to the top of the old Palpatine statue.”

“Sounds like a fun night,” said Ben drily. “Sure am sad I missed it. You see, Rey, maybe it’s time you stop encouraging Luke to visit his family.”

As if he summoned him, Ben heard Luke’s gruff voice coming through the door as he barked at the cop to get off him.

“Hello, Luke,” said Rey sternly when the man had made his appearance, his eyes bloodshot. “They’re letting you come home with me, you lucky bastard. Looks like the cops are sick of your old mug, and who can blame them, lest I’d let you rot in here for a couple more days.”

“Yeah, yeah,” grumbled Luke, rubbing his head.

“You two keep these three out of trouble until they sober up, you got it?” asked the officer who had dragged Luke in. “Don’t make us regret letting them off the hook.”

“We will,” promised Rey and Ben, before wishing the cops a merry Christmas and leading the Three Stooges out the door into the chilly night. 

They each unlocked their cars and helped their respective law-breakers in. 

Rey closed her passenger door behind Luke and came up to Ben.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry your Christmas was spoiled,” she said.

“Don’t apologize. You got the worst end of the stick, here. You’re not even related to Luke. My family is my burden to bear. You should have been left out of it.”

“It ended up being an okay night,” she said, giving Ben a tiny smile that warmed him up faster than his car heater would.

Ben was desperate to hold onto her somehow.

“You shouldn’t have to babysit that old curmudgeon alone,” he said. “Why don’t you bring him to my parents’, and you can just dump him there. I’ll watch over him. His car is probably at their house anyway.”

“Yeah, okay.” Rey nodded. She reached out and touched his arm. “But you shouldn’t have to be alone, either. I could help?”

“You can’t possibly want to spend Christmas with me and my hungover family.”

She frowned at him. “I don’t know how much clearer I could have been in there. I don’t have family and I don’t have plans.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s how Luke knew he could call me.” She paused and then spoke all in a rush. “But I mean, I don’t want to intrude.”

“I’d be really happy if you were there,” said Ben, taking her hand in an unusual act of boldness. “I was enjoying talking to you.”

Rey broke into a smile and looked down at their hands. “Me too.”

“Okay,” said Ben, returning her smile. “Let’s get these idiots to bed. Follow me.”

* * *

Leia woke up on Christmas morning to a pounding headache and her mouth as dry as cotton. She rubbed her eyes trying to piece together the events that had led her to this condition. Taking in her outfit, she was in her favorite red Christmas sweater, but it was worse for wear.

Next to her, Han was snoring like a sawmill, also in his Christmas sweater.

She needed water, and an aspirin, so she painstakingly pulled herself to a standing position and closed her eyes until her rush of vertigo passed.

She stumbled down the hallway, where she noticed someone in their guest room. _Had Ben come home for Christmas?_ She poked her head in, and saw Luke on his side, also in his clothes.

The Cantina. 

Leia managed to extract a memory of the three of them resurrecting an old shot competition they had done in college. It probably hadn’t been the wisest thing they had ever done. They certainly weren’t twenty anymore.

Closing Luke’s door, she slipped out and came into the living room.

She nearly gasped when she saw Ben, fast asleep on the couch, with a cute brunette girl curled up against his chest. His arms were around her protectively, and Leia smiled at the sight.

So Ben had come home after all. And he had brought a girl. Leia cursed herself for not being a better hostess, off drinking the night before instead of setting up the guest room for the two of them.

Let Luke sleep on the couch.

Despite her shame, Leia couldn’t wipe off her smile as she took in the two young people.

The night before was a blur, but today she swore she’d shake off her raging hangover and be the perfect Christmas mother.

And really, how bad could the night before have been, anyway?

  
  



	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on leaving this as a one-shot but due to recent events, I simply could not leave this with an ambiguous ending and had no choice but to return to this story and give it an overtly HEA. It's so self-indulgent and fluffy, guys, you've been warned.
> 
> Thank you to Semperfidani for organizing the Star Wars Advent Event that this story was part of. It's been a treat all through December.

_Christmas Morning_

Ben woke up slowly to the sound of a snow plow rumbling down the street, his mind trying to catch up to the slight pain in his back and pressure on his chest. He nearly jumped when his blinking eyes settled on a brunette head leaning against him, hair fanning out, but he managed to keep his reaction to a small gasp. The tiny jolt that resulted caused her to stir, but she didn’t wake and snuggled closer into him.

He was not the type to wake up with random women in his arms.

When he looked up and found himself in his parents’ living room, the events of the night flooded back. 

\--

_Christmas Eve_

Ben and Rey managed to get Han and Leia into their bed, offering shoulders for support as they stumbled up the stairs.

Luke proved to be tougher since he had passed out again in Rey’s car. He was tempted to leave him there all night, but somehow he felt that letting his uncle freeze to death would not endear him to the lovely girl he was interested in getting to know better.

They managed to pull Luke out of the car, where he slumped on the driveway.

“Now what?” said Ben, looking heavenward. He and Rey kicked at Luke, whose sleepy moans were the only indication that he was still alive.

“We have to get him inside,” said Rey. She wrung her hands, and then looked at Ben with a critical eye, sizing him up. “I guess this is your WWII movie moment.”

“I’m sorry, my what?”

“You know, that scene that it’s in every war movie, where the soldier picks up his fallen comrade and carries him to safety?”

“I’m not sorry that I hardly think that falling unconscious due to losing a shot contest is the same as falling in battle.”

“Either way, he’s in danger.”

“I am not throwing out my back for Luke.” He toed at Luke again, hoping he’d magically jump up and walk himself in.

“That’s what the fireman’s carry is for.”

“I’ll remind you that I went to law school, not firefighter academy.”

So that was how they found themselves Googling “fireman’s carry,” and ended up on a Wikihow page demonstrating the steps to safely carry another adult. Ben studied the steps, bemoaning his entire existence, until Rey had the excellent idea that he could practice on her.

She talked him through the instructions as he picked her up with ease. She squealed as he flipped her to the ground playfully.

If only he could just keep picking up Rey. 

“See how easy that was for you?” said Rey, straightening her coat.

Ben looked at her incredulously. “You are not a fifty-plus year old man who’s had one too many milkshakes.”

“You mean oat milkshakes.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised?” His shoulders slumped, and he accepted his fate of lifting the giant lump that was his uncle. 

“Don’t hurt him,” called out Rey, lurching forward to help position Luke’s arms around Ben’s lowered shoulders.

“He’s drunk as a skunk. I don’t think I could hurt him if I tried.”

“Don’t hurt yourself, then.”

As he straightened, Ben focused on not allowing himself to obviously grimace and was rewarded with Rey unabashedly admiring him in his strength.

Ben couldn’t help a flash of pride. Working out regularly was his one stress relief from work, and he’d show it off if he wanted.

“You’d make a fine WWII soldier,” said Rey.

“That is the strangest compliment I’ve ever received, or at least I think it was?” Ben tried to keep his voice normal even as his body protested under the weight of his bum uncle.

“It definitely was.” Rey led the way into the house and held doors open for Ben. Together, they lowered Luke onto the guest bed and returned to the living room.

Without all the lawbreakers safely in their beds, Ben and Rey had no shared purpose and stood awkwardly. 

This was when Ben did not know how to shine around women. He had felt more at ease with Rey than he was used to, but as they stood silently, he realized it was because they had had the events of the evenings to serve as an icebreaker.

“So... this is where you grew up?” Rey looked around the modest home. He winced when he saw her eyes land on his high school senior portrait on the wall. He hated that picture. He hadn’t figured out how to hide his ears with his hair yet, and of course his mom had selected the shot where he smiled with his teeth.

“Uh, yeah,” he said inelegantly. 

Rey stepped over to the Christmas tree and examined the gifts underneath.

“There’s one here for you,” she said, touching it lightly. “Were you not planning to come at all?”

His stomach churned nervously. “I would have made it over at some point over the next while. I usually watch bowl games with my dad.”

He was anxious to change the subject. “Do you, uh, want to take a seat? Make yourself at home.” He gestured at the couch, and she smiled gratefully.

\--

_Christmas Morning_

Carefully, Ben set a hand on the top of Rey’s hair and slid his fingers through, moving his hand to a new section every time he hit a snarl. He was nervous for when she’d wake up, but he didn’t want to waste this opportunity to have her in his arms.

He knew that he should go and check on his parents and Luke, but he didn’t want to disturb Rey and end the magic. 

He continued playing with her hair, feeling guilty that he wasn’t running to make sure any of his family members had died, when he heard something smash in the kitchen followed by a familiar voice cursing.

His mom at least was up. Satisfied that she could deal with her husband and brother, Ben settled back into the couch, trying to straighten his back without dislodging Rey.

He wasn’t successful. As he felt her shake her head under his fingertips, he yanked his hands back automatically. 

_\--_

_Christmas Eve_

They decided to watch a movie. Rey seemed determined to honor her offer to stick with Ben through Christmas.

After fumbling with his parents’ new remote for an embarrassingly long time (his dad was always jumping cable providers to get new customer promotions), they settled on _A Christmas Story_ on TBS. 

They stayed mostly silent as they watched as the movie played. Ben longed for some of the easy camaraderie they had had at the police station. As a commercial break dragged on, he begged his mind for any conversation topic.

“So why is Luke such a recluse?”

Rey’s question introduced a topic that was not even close to what he had been sorting through in his mind.

“Um.” Ben picked up the remote and pushed the mute button, which was thankfully easy to find. “That’s kind of a complicated question, one that I don’t really know the answer to.” He looked at Rey, sitting across from him on the couch. “What has he told you?”

“Just that he hadn’t seen his sister in a long time, even though she and her husband lived nearby.” She scrunched her eyebrows and bit her lip, clearly weighing her next words. “He never mentioned you.”

“That’s not surprising. I haven’t seen him much since high school. We were close when I was young, when he still came around here a lot, but I was a moody teenager and probably didn’t do much to maintain that relationship.”

“That guy up there?” She pointed at his senior picture. “Moody?”

“Tough to believe, huh?”

She laughed. “Nah, that picture screams ‘you’ll be grounded if you don’t smile.’”

“That’s basically the truth. My mom came and gave me the evil eye from behind the photographer the whole time.” He shuddered. “She’s good at that.”

“So what do you and Luke talk about?” Ben changed the subject, genuinely curious. “From what I’ve gathered over the past ten years, he’s gotten even weirder, which is saying something.”

She scooted the littlest bit closer and gave him a smile. “After tonight, I’m thinking that maybe it’s a little bit genetic.” She reached out and poked him on the chest.

He huffed. “Touché.”

“I don’t know, random stuff, small talk. It used to be exclusively weather, but then he warmed up slightly. We talk about my business, too. He actually has some good insights, believe it or not.”

“Please tell me you’ve made him a necklace.”

Her smile grew. “No, but I love that idea. He does wear a ring I made though. Proudest I’ve ever been to have a customer.”

“He paid?”

“No. But still.”

“I updated his will a few years ago,” said Ben, remembering one of the few times he had seen his uncle since high school. “He also didn’t pay me.”

“Did he leave all his money to me?” Rey’s eyes twinkled with merriment.

If Ben recalled correctly, Luke had left his money and house to charity, but he still smiled coyly and said, “Sorry, attorney-client privilege.” Feeling bold, he leaned in closer and added, “But just between you and me, I wouldn’t go quitting your day job.”

She feigned dramatic disappointment. “I guess I can stop plotting his murder.”

“You realize that murder negates your rights as a beneficiary?”

“Well, obviously I’d make it look like an accident.”

“Did you have a plan?”

“Hmm.” She tapped her chin. “I think I’d break something in his old Ford X-Wing. Then I’d wait until it was on the blocks and he was under, and then I’d…” She mimicked sliding her foot to knock over the blocks.

Ben’s mouth dropped open. “Wow, Rey, that is frighteningly specific.”

She shrugged innocently. “This is all hypothetical of course.”

“Of course.” Ben chuckled. “I feel like I should be terrified that you came up with that so fast, but strangely, I’m…” He snapped his mouth shut before the words “into it” came flying out.

“I’m...amused,” he finished instead.

“So who will get to inherit the mighty Luke Skywalker estate?” she asked. Somehow, the space between them on the couch had managed to shrink again.

Ben laughed dryly. “Someone who will be very disappointed with what it contains.” He decided to follow Rey’s lead and scoot closer, too. “All I can tell you is, it’s not me, and it’s not you.”

“There’s so much deferred maintenance on his house I’m not sure I’d want it,” said Rey. “I’ve tried to help him with a couple projects, but we’ve only scratched the surface.”

“You are so good, Rey.”

She scoffed. “I’m really not. Honestly, Luke and I argue most of the time.”

“Luke argues with everyone.”

“That’s true.” She paused. Ben would have changed the subject, but her silence seemed thoughtful. Her eyes met his in the soft light of Christmas lights that decorated the tree and room. “What would you have thought if Luke had included some random neighbor in his will?”

Her question threw him off. “Um, I definitely would have found that interesting. I would have wondered what kind of woman could have made her way into Luke’s heart.” He took a breath before adding, “If I had met you, I would have figured it out.”

She came in a little closer. Only the crease between the cushions separated them. If either of them moved any further, they would tip into each other.

“Do you think we ever would have met if tonight hadn’t happened?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. The light conversational tone they had maintained was gone, replaced by something that even Ben could read as flirtatious.

“Probably not,” admitted Ben. “So I’m sure feeling lucky it did.”

Between the ambient glow of the Christmas tree and the late hour, Ben was acting far braver than he usually did. Most dates he spent overanalyzing every moment until he had convinced himself that whoever he was with wasn’t interested. 

But the way that Rey looked at him, he couldn’t help but think that he had a shot. Her eyes left his, and searched his face.

She must not have found what she was looking for, because she pulled back a tiny bit. Ben didn’t know how it was possible that his heart wasn’t showing all over his face, but It wouldn’t be the first time he put someone off by expression alone.

He carefully set his hand on the back of her neck, rubbing slightly with his thumb. He waited for her to flinch, but she smiled softly. She surprised him by bolting forward and taking his lips in an eager kiss.

He caught her and kept her from falling off the couch in her enthusiasm, leaving his hand on her neck and placing his other hand on the small of her back, guiding her until she fit perfectly against him. They found their rhythm and Ben smiled into the kiss.

They kissed under the glow of the Christmas tree as the falling snow sparkled through the window.

\--

_Christmas Morning_

Rey stirring under Ben made his heart beat like thunder. They hadn’t spoken after their kisses the night before, Rey simply laying her head against him and falling asleep.

What would she think now? Would she be pissed that he had taken advantage of her, all alone at one in the morning? 

Ben sat frozen as Rey rubbed her face into his shirt and lifted her head.

“Hey,” she said groggily.

“Hey.” 

She cranked her head to look out the window. 

“It snowed a lot last night,” she said.

“Yep.”

“It’s really pretty.”

“Yeah.” He cursed his inability to say more than one word.

“If it had been this bad last night, we could have pulled Luke in on a sled.”

That made him laugh, and she grinned at him, sending his heart racing again.

His mother chose that moment to come stumbling into the living room.

“You’re up!” Leia clearly tried to sound chipper but she was betrayed by her wrinkled brow and sallow skin.

“So are you,” said Ben, cocking an eyebrow as he took in her disheveled look. “How are you feeling?”

“Great!” She gave Ben and Rey a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Benny, you didn’t tell me you were coming home. And bringing a girl!”

Rey stiffened against him, and he wanted to sink into the cushions.

“I didn’t bring - Mom, this is Rey, remember?”

Leia smiled apologetically. “I was a little out of it last night I’m afraid.” She held out her hand and Rey took it. “Please call me Leia, dear. I’m terribly sorry I wasn’t more prepared for you to come. Ben never told me he was seeing anyone.” She gave Ben an evil eye.

Ben sputtered. “Mom, what? Rey is not my -” He coughed. “What do you remember from last night?”

Leia squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead with her hand not holding a coffee mug. Rey jumped up and helped her settle into the loveseat across from them, carefully setting the mug on the coffee table.

“You must feel awful,” said Rey. “Don’t even worry about me.”

“I think I had a little too much last night.”

“A little?” Ben was incredulous. He could see Rey turn away from his mom so she could smile. “Mom, do you really not remember anything about last night?”

A thudding noise, followed by a string of curses, made them all look towards the hallway staircase.

“That must be your father,” said Leia, shaking her head. “He was still dead to the world when I got up.”

“I’m not surprised,” said Ben. “I’m not sure I drank that much at my first college party.”

“You drank before you were 21?” Leia looked at him angrily. Rey covered her laugh with her hand.

“Really?” said Ben. “Now?”

He was saved from his mother’s extremely misplaced ire by his dad limping in, grumbling about a loose stair and his throbbing pinky toe.

“Don’t blame the staircase,” said Ben, rolling his eyes.

Han noticed him. “Well, looky here. We get Ben for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and all it took was a little arrest.”

“Benjamin, you got arrested?” His mother’s anger grew.

“What?” Ben stood up and pointed at Leia. “You got arrested. Both of you. All three of you.” He gestured back to the guest room. “I had to come to the police station in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and spring you from jail. So I think the word you’re looking for is _thank you._ ”

“That’s a phrase, kid.”

Ben glared back at his dad, who gave him a smug smirk before sinking onto the couch next to his wife, whose eyes were darting around frantically, trying to conjure any memory of what Ben and Han were talking about.

Han nudged Leia’s knee.

“I could really use some coffee and Advil, Princess. I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

“Get it yourself,” she snapped back.

Ben knew where this was going, so he left his parents to bicker and indicated to Rey for her to follow him into the kitchen.

“I’m really sorry about all that,” said Ben. “I don’t think this is the charming family Christmas morning you were looking for.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting your parents to wake up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

“You don’t have to stay long. We’ll check on Luke and then you’re freed from this crazy family.”

Her eyes fell to the floor. “Right. Yeah, sorry, I’ll get out of your hair.”

“No!” He grabbed her hand aggressively, before loosening his grip and rubbing her wrist with his thumb. “No, of course I want you here. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to stay.”

She looked back up at him, some of the electricity from the night before returning. She was beautiful even after a night of couch sleeping. “I’d like to stay with you.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I’d really like a toothbrush.”

Ben laughed. “Me too.”

“Let me go ask your mom if she has any extra.”

Ben looked over towards the living room, which was getting louder as Leia caught on to what happened the night before. Ben groaned. Only his parents could stand to argue with pounding headaches.

“How about we find an open store instead?” he suggested. “It’s a perfect excuse to get away from this.”

She grinned. “Okay.”

They had to go back through the living room, where Han looked at them curiously. 

“Who’s your girl?” he asked bluntly.

Ben froze but Rey spoke up. “I’m Rey, Luke’s neighbor. I was at the station last night. You probably don’t remember much.”

“Well, a merry Christmas to Ben!” said his father jubilantly, and Ben cringed.

A loud snore came from the guest room. Leia rubbed her head wearily like she hadn’t just been making plenty of noise herself.

“Luke’s snores could wake the dead,” she said. “Ben, go turn him. He must have fallen on his back.”

“No way,” said Ben. “Rey and I are going to the store. Luke is your problem now.”

Han’s head snapped up. “Can you grab some Pedialyte?”

“Pedialyte?”

“Yeah, it’s a hangover cure that Chewie swears by.”

Ben responded with “you have got to be kidding me” right as Rey said, “no problem.”

Han nodded approvingly at Rey. “She gets it.”

\--

“Would your dad like these?” Rey held up a pair of slippers in the gift aisle of a Walgreens they had found open.

“You do not have to get my parents anything.”

“I’m invading Christmas morning.”

“They owe us for giving up our Christmas mornings. Besides.” He looked at his watch. “We all slept right through Christmas morning anyway.”

“Still.” She stuck the slippers in her basket. “I’d like to do something.” She began to reach for a makeup kit, but dropped her hand. “I have a necklace in the car that I was planning to ship tomorrow. No personal identifiers on it. I’ll just make a new one for the customer and give that one to your mom.”

“You really don’t need to do that.”

She frowned at him. “Well, I’d like to. What about you?”

“I Amazon primed some stuff to my parents. I’m not a total monster. And Luke?” He grabbed a cheesy Elf hat. “That’ll do.”

They wandered the store, throwing a few snacks and toiletries into their baskets. As they waited for a store associate to join them at the check-out, Ben insisted on paying for everything.

“It’s the least I can do,” said Ben. “You’re making my day a million times better just by being with me.”

The smile she gave him was so dazzling he almost didn’t notice the worker who was trying to take the basket to scan his items.

“Oh, sorry,” Ben mumbled, handing it over. Rey reached in and plucked out the gift she had gotten for his dad.

“I’m at least getting this,” she said.

Ben turned to the cashier. “So, uh, you have to work on Christmas?”

“Yeah,” said the cashier without looking up from his work. “Because people still shop on Christmas.”

Ben winced and he heard Rey snicker. He wasn’t good at stranger small talk.

The cashier’s hand stilled as he scanned the first of three bottles of brightly colored Pedialyte. He looked up at both of them.

“Is your kid sick?”

Ben nearly choked on his tongue. “We, uh…” he sputtered.

Rey took his hand. “Something like that,” she said.

“You hate to see that on Christmas,” said the cashier. “That’s unfair.”

“Yes,” agreed Rey. “It really is.”

They finished checking out and climbed back into Ben’s car.

“We’d best get back to our poor sick children,” said Rey. Ben was relieved that she was joking about the misunderstanding and wasn’t horrified by it. She yawned. “And Mommy could use some coffee.”

“Maybe there’s a place open,” said Ben. “I’m sure my parents have finished off the whole pot by now.”

McDonald’s was all they could find.

“Don’t point out the fact that they’re working on Christmas,” said Rey, giggling, as they pulled up. “I think they’re well aware of the fact.”

“I was trying to make polite conversation.”

She laughed. “Here, while you’re at it, you should get some hangover food for our poor wee sickies.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” said Ben, before lowering his window and ordering five large coffees and an army’s worth of sausage egg mcmuffins with hash browns.

\--

Han pounced on the greasy fast food bags as soon as Ben and Rey returned.

“I always knew having a kid would pay off eventually,” he said.

Ben and Rey cleaned themselves up a bit and wrapped their last-minute gifts before joining Han, Leia, and Luke at the kitchen table. The three were digging into the food like they hadn’t eaten in a year, including Luke, gleefully abandoning his hippie diet regimen. They traded jabs at each other, mouths full of food.

Ben grimaced, and leaned into Rey, whispering, “I think this is the strangest Christmas I’ve ever had.”

“Not your merriest, huh?”

“I said it was strange,” said Ben. “Not that it wasn’t good.” He took her hand under the table and squeezed. She squeezed back and his heart fluttered.

“Hey.” He leaned in even closer to whisper in her ear, feeling grateful that they had had a chance to brush their teeth. “How about after we’re done here, we spend the rest of the day together at my place?”

“Really?” she whispered back.

“Only if you want to.”

“I want to.” She bit her lip. “Only, do you think I could swing by my house first to change and get ready? I’d like to look nice so that maybe I can get a repeat performance of last night.”

Ben thought she looked perfect, but if she saw him as someone to look nice for, he wasn’t going to complain.

And if by “repeat performance,” she meant their kiss, he really wasn’t going to complain.

“Anything you need,” he assured her, thinking quickly about what he could accomplish in that time to make the day special. He hadn’t been impressed with the gift options at Walgreens.

She smiled and intertwined their fingers. Ben didn’t even care that the table had fallen silent as the three elders had noticed the googly eyes the two were making at each other. 

He refused to turn his eyes away from Rey’s, no matter how much he would hear about it later. Ben Solo was not known for his positivity, but today, he knew that this was the start of something special.

Maybe there was a bit of Christmas magic out there after all.

\--

_Christmas Eve_

“We don’t have to stay long,” promised Rey, holding Ben’s gloved hand with her mittened one. “But I promised your mom we would come.”

“I know you packed an overnight bag. It’ll be late tomorrow before we go back home.” Ben knew his voice sounded whiny, but he didn’t care. He wanted to spend the whole holiday with the two of them wrapped up in their cozy apartment with the tree that they had picked out together.

He had diligently carried the tree up three flights of stairs because Rey had insisted that they have a real tree, something she had longed for as a child but never got.

She was impossible to deny. Which was why they always spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with his parents. Rey loved spending the holidays with his family, and Ben loved Rey.

“Oh hush,” said Rey. “We can’t bail on your parents. And besides, if we leave them alone, who knows what shenanigans they could get up to?”

She pulled on her necklace, which now bore a charm that had the date 12/24 stamped on the back, the night they had met. Another charm hanging next to it featured their wedding anniversary.

“Don’t discount the good that could come out of them getting arrested,” said Ben, kissing her head. “After all, that’s the reason I met you.”

After dinner, Han pulled out some bottles of liquor. “This evening is boring a.f.,” he said. Turning to Ben and Rey, he asked, “Did I get that right? A.F.?”

“ _Dad_ ,” Ben moaned as Rey laughed.

“I think it’s time for a little contest,” continued Han, waving a bottle around.

“Do you think that’s wise?”

“Oh lighten up, Ben,” said his mother. “We can’t get pulled in for public intoxication if we’re not actually in public. You’re so eager to hold that incident from years ago against us.”

“For good reason!”

“I’m in,” called out Luke, grabbing two glasses. He handed one to Rey. “It’s me against you, girl. It’s time I see what you’re really made of.”

Luke always favored Rey at family gatherings. She was probably the only reason he came. Luke would never admit it, but Ben knew he missed having Rey as his neighbor.

“Umm…” said Rey nervously. She met Ben’s eyes, and he worked his mouth in frustration. She disappeared for a few minutes. He was about to go find her when she came back in holding a small wrapped package that he immediately recognized.

“Hey, Leia,” she said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “I was going to do this in the morning, but I think now is the time. I have a gift for you.”

“Oh sweetheart.” Leia hugged Rey as she took the package. She gave it a tiny shake. “You know I can’t get enough of your jewelry.”

Leia tore off the wrapping paper and opened the rectangular jewelry box. She gasped when she took in the bracelet sitting against the fluffy white padding.

“Nana?” she whispered when she read the engraving.

“Flip it over,” said Rey, her smile bright.

“May 2020,” read Leia, tears immediately coming to her eyes. She set the box on the table and grabbed Rey for a hug, the two both crying now.

Han grabbed Ben, and the whole kitchen became a mess of back pats, hugs, and congratulations. Ben pulled Rey back and tucked her in his side, squeezing her gently and kissing her temple.

Leia pulled her back. “Sit, sit,” she insisted, practically shoving Rey into a chair.

Rey laughed. “I’m quite alright, I promise.”

Leia wasn’t finished. She wagged her finger at Han. “You were about to poison our grandchild!” she snapped, whisking the forgotten liquor off the island. “This is going out of sight.”

“Well excuse me, Your Highness,” shot back Han. “Forgive me for not being a mindreader.”

He followed Leia out of the room, the two arguing again. Luke chased after them, calling out that he wasn’t pregnant and would still like a glass.

Ben sank into a chair next to Rey and laid a gentle hand on her abdomen.

“This kid is worth having if only for the purpose of stopping that shot contest,” he said.

Rey giggled. “I hope he or she means more to you than that.”

She was kidding around, but Ben looked at her seriously. “You know they do. You and this little one-” he rubbed her belly softly - “are the greatest Christmas present I could ever receive. You two are everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Rey climbed into his lap, circling her arms around his neck. “Me too. I love you, Ben.”

“I love you, too.”

Han and Luke came back in, triumphantly presenting their full glasses.

Rey nudged him in the ribs. “Go grab the Martinelli’s from the car,” she said. He nodded and went to get the non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice they had bought to celebrate the baby the next day.

Later on, as all of his family raised glasses to toast the littlest Solo, Ben didn’t think his heart could be any more full.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Have a wonderful holiday season!


End file.
